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Sluggin’ it out in the Southwest
Mississippi leads Arkansas by two points in ECHL division.

11.05.02- The Southwest Division has a different look these days, with the Mississippi Sea Wolves in first place with 16 points, while the Arkansas RiverBlades are in second place with 14 points.

Louisiana is in third place with 13 points. The IceGators are in unfamiliar territory having won the division each of the past five seasons, and they haven't been out of first place this late in the season since December of 2000.

After losing 4-3 to Arkansas on Friday, the Sea Wolves posted a 3-1 win at Pensacola on Saturday and beat Louisiana 4-3 on Sunday.

Arkansas is 6-2-2 tying the best start in its four-year history. The RiverBlades won 4-3 at Mississippi on Friday before going 1-0-1 against Columbia over the weekend.

Louisiana did not have lady luck on their side, as they went 0-2-1 last week, losing three one-goal games.

Arkansas and Louisiana meet in Lafayette on Thursday, a makeup for the October 13 game cancelled by Hurricane Lilli. The RiverBlades and IceGators will meet again on Saturday in North Little Rock.

Arkansas then travels to Baton Rouge on Sunday, while Louisiana will host Greenville.

Mississippi plays only one game this week hosting Greenville on Friday.

It’s no wonder the Sea Wolves are in first place; they are lead by two of the most prolific scorers in the league.

Mississippi's Steffon Walby leads the East Coast Hockey League with 22 points and three short-handed goals and he is tied for the ECHL lead with 15 assists.

Walby scored the game-winning goal for the Sea Wolves on Saturday and Sunday giving him three game winners, tied for the ECHL lead with teammate Cody Bowtell, Reading's Brian McCullough and Arkansas' Mike Cirillo.

Steffon was named the ECHL Player of the Month after leading the league with 12 assists and 17 points in October.

His teammate, Jim Baxter leads ECHL defensemen with six goals and 14 points, and he is tied for first with three power-play goals and is tied for third with eight assists.

The RiverBlades and IceGators have some firepower on defense as well.

Arkansas' Eric Long is tied for third among ECHL defensemen with eight assists, and he is tied for fifth in scoring with nine points.

Not to be outdone, Louisiana's Kevin Mitchell is tied for the ECHL lead among defensemen with 11 assists, and he is tied for third with 12 points.

So far this season, the Southwest Division is shaping up to be one of the tightest in the league.